McEntee reappointed senior boss as Sligo create clear player development pathway
September 21, 2021
Sligo manager Tony McEntee. ©INPHO/James Crombie.
Tony McEntee has been reappointed Sligo senior football manager.
2022 will be McEntee's second year at the helm of the Yeats County as they look to improve their fortunes under the Armagh All-Ireland winner following a failed promotion bid from the Allianz League's bottom tier and 20-point Connacht SFC quarter-final drubbing by Mayo.
His backroom team will again include Joe Keane (assistant manager), Mark Breheny (selector), Paul Durcan (selector/goalkeeping coach) and Sean Boyle (strength and conditioning).
Sligo's U20 football management set-up of Dessie Sloyan (manager), Paul Higgins (coach), Con O'Meara, Eamonn O'Hara (selectors), Richard Kennedy (logistics/selector) and Joe Quinn (strength and conditioning) have also been reappointed for a third season.
Meanwhile, Sligo county board chairman Sean Carroll has confirmed the addition of a county U18-U19 development squad managed by Paul Henry with the aim of building a clear player development pathway from juvenile to adult level and will not include U20 panellists.
Henry, who guided Sligo to a first Connacht MFC title in 53 years back in August, will be supported by Enda Mitchell, Colm McGee, Ross Donovan, JP Carden, Pat Kilcoyne and Performance GDA Joe Boyle.
“The creation of the U19/20 development squad is recognising that not all those who featured in our recent Connacht U17 championship success will immediately move in to the U20 squad, and also that players of that age will emerge who were not part of previous county underage squads but who are capable of playing county football and who deserve the opportunity to train and prepare in a structured intercounty standard environment at the earliest opportunity, Carroll said in a statement posted on www.sligogaa.ie.
"When we look back on 2021 there will be both highs and lows to learn from. The underage development work is showing continuous improvement and making Sligo consistently competitive at underage levels. We are confident the addition of the U18/U19 development squad and the early confirmation of team managements will strengthen the development journey from there into adult football and provide a stable and effective base from which to be competitive at that level too."
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